B&T

M+C Saatchi Group announced that, following an extensive review of strategic options for its Australia and New Zealand advertising agency, the previously announced management buyout of the business, backed by private equity, will not proceed. Following constructive discussions, it was ultimately determined that a transaction could not be concluded on terms acceptable to all stakeholders.

There is no shortage of people in adland who can spot a good idea. The trick is knowing which ideas are actually worth pursuing — and having the strategic sense to give them a fighting chance. Agency strategists are among the best spotters of ideas anywhere in the world and the following ten (or 12) are chief among them. As always with B&T’s Best of the Best, narrowing the field to only ten was no easy feat.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is investigating allegations that Meta continued to run hundreds of advertisements depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including more than 120 ads that were allegedly targeted at Australian users. The investigation follows a report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which found 332 ads containing CSAM that had run across Facebook and Instagram this year.

Seven’s First Dates Australia delivered a particularly emotional moment as one contestant was left in tears after her date picked up the dinner bill. The dating series featured 56-year-old Amanda, who became emotional when her date, fellow 56-year-old David, unexpectedly offered to pay for their meal. The sweet (and slightly awkward) moment came as the pair continued getting to know each other, with Amanda visibly moved by the gesture.

Myer has extended its partnership with brand, experience and performance agency Jaywing, marking five years of collaboration and expanding the agency’s remit to help future-proof the retailer’s digital presence. Myer will continue working with Jaywing to lead Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), content and Digital PR, while strengthening its focus on Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) as the retailer prepares for the next evolution of AI-powered search and customer discovery.

Andrew ‘Cambo’ Cambridge has been in the hot seat Initiative for a little more than two months. In his first interview since taking the role, he tells B&T that his initial reaction to be approached for the job was “why me?” Stepping into the top job at the Omnicom-owned media agency isn’t the only dramatic change that has had in his life over the past year. His commute has also changed drastically. Not so long ago, weekends meant mooching around Freshwater on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

When Duncan Armour first took on the role of CMO at MoleMap ANZ, he explained to B&T he inherited a fragmented marketing function. After he built a growth engine and led a trans-Tasman team restructure, the brand is seeing some top results. In fact, May 2026 was an all-time record booking month, up 46 per cent year-on-year and the strongest growth rate in the brand’s history. A lot of this growth is in New Zealand where MoleMap has an 80 per cent market share.

Under Armour has expanded its new ‘Commit’ brand platform across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in new creative work, following its initial Australian launch featuring Olympic swimming champion Kaylee McKeown. The launch work features 28 athletes across film, print, social and digital out-of-home, with Colenso BBDO partnering with OMD APAC on the media strategy and rollout. It comes after the announcement of the new platform in Australia was reported by B&T last month.

There are few Australian national teams more successful than the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos. The pair regularly compete for podium places at the Olympic Games and Hockey World Cup, yet the sport has barely scratched the surface when it comes to attracting sponsors in Australia’s highly competitive sports landscape. That could soon be about to change.

Cricket Australia has signed a deal with Australian-developed audience engagement and data platform Komo Technologies. Rather than just asking fans to complete forms or surveys, the Komo platform will enable CA to give fans opportunities to participate in activities such as predicting, voting and playing along with the game as it happens – both on and off the field across international Test matches, ODIs, T20s and the Big Bash leagues.